STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4962--A
2005-2006 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
April 18, 2005
___________
Introduced by Sen. JOHNSON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Energy and Telecommuni-
cations -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to exempting the sale and
installation of residential solar energy systems equipment from state
sales and compensating use taxes and granting municipalities the
option to grant such exemption
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 1115 of the tax law is amended by adding a new
2 subdivision (ee) to read as follows:
3 (ee) Receipts from the retail sale of residential solar energy systems
4 equipment and of the service of installing such systems shall be exempt
5 from tax under this article. For the purposes of this subdivision,
6 "residential solar energy systems equipment" shall mean an arrangement
7 or combination of components installed in a residence that utilizes
8 solar radiation to produce energy designed to provide heating, cooling,
9 hot water and/or electricity. Such arrangement or components shall not
10 include equipment that is part of a non-solar energy system or which
11 uses any sort of recreational facility or equipment as a storage medium.
12 § 2. Paragraph 1 of subdivision (a) of section 1210 of the tax law, as
13 amended by chapter 472 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as
14 follows:
15 (1) Either, all of the taxes described in article twenty-eight of this
16 chapter, at the same uniform rate, as to which taxes all provisions of
17 the local laws, ordinances or resolutions imposing such taxes shall be
18 identical, except as to rate and except as otherwise provided herein,
19 with the corresponding provisions in such article twenty-eight, includ-
20 ing the definition and exemption provisions of such article, so far as
21 the provisions of such article twenty-eight can be made applicable to
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11155-02-5
S. 4962--A 2
1 the taxes imposed by such city or county and with such limitations and
2 special provisions as are set forth in this article. However, any local
3 law enacted by any city of one million or more, imposing the taxes
4 authorized by this subdivision, shall omit the exemption provided in
5 subdivision (c) of section eleven hundred fifteen insofar as it applies
6 to fuel, gas, electricity, refrigeration and steam, and gas, electric,
7 refrigeration and steam service of whatever nature for use or consump-
8 tion directly and exclusively in the production of gas, electricity,
9 refrigeration or steam and, unless such city elects otherwise, the
10 provision for refund or credit contained in clause six of subdivision
11 (a) of section eleven hundred nineteen, and may omit (A) the exception
12 provided in paragraph three of subdivision (c) of section eleven hundred
13 five for receipts from laundering, dry-cleaning, tailoring, weaving,
14 pressing, shoe repairing and shoe shining and (B) the exception provided
15 in paragraph one of subdivision (f) of section eleven hundred five for
16 charges to a patron for admission to, or use of, facilities for sporting
17 activities in which such patron is to be a participant, such as bowling
18 alleys and swimming pools. Furthermore, any local law enacted by a city
19 of one million or more imposing the taxes authorized by this subdivision
20 may impose the taxes described in paragraph six of subdivision (c) of
21 section eleven hundred five at a rate in addition to the rate prescribed
22 by this section not to exceed two per centum in multiples of one-half of
23 one per centum. The taxes authorized under this subdivision may not be
24 imposed by a city or county unless the local law, ordinance or resol-
25 ution imposes such taxes so as to include all portions and all types of
26 receipts, charges or rents, subject to state tax under sections eleven
27 hundred five and eleven hundred ten, except as provided in the following
28 sentence. Any local law, ordinance or resolution enacted by any city of
29 less than one million or by any county or school district, imposing the
30 taxes authorized by this subdivision, shall, notwithstanding any
31 provision of law to the contrary, exclude from the operation of such
32 local taxes all sales of tangible personal property for use or consump-
33 tion directly and predominantly in the production of tangible personal
34 property, gas, electricity, refrigeration or steam, for sale, by manu-
35 facturing, processing, generating, assembly, refining, mining or
36 extracting; and all sales of tangible personal property for use or
37 consumption predominantly either in the production of tangible personal
38 property, for sale, by farming or in a commercial horse boarding opera-
39 tion, or in both; and, unless such city, county or school district
40 elects otherwise, shall omit the provision for credit or refund
41 contained in clause six of subdivision (a) of section eleven hundred
42 nineteen. Any local law, ordinance or resolution enacted by any city,
43 county or school district, imposing the taxes authorized by this subdi-
44 vision, shall omit the residential solar energy systems equipment
45 exemption provided for in subdivision (ee), the clothing and footwear
46 exemption provided for in paragraph thirty of subdivision (a) and the
47 qualified empire zone enterprise exemptions provided for in subdivision
48 (z) of section eleven hundred fifteen, unless such city, county or
49 school district elects otherwise as to either such residential solar
50 energy systems equipment exemption or such clothing and footwear
51 exemption or such qualified empire zone enterprise exemptions; provided
52 that if such a city having a population of one million or more enacts
53 the resolution described in subdivision (k) of this section or repeals
54 such resolution or enacts the resolution described in subdivision (l) of
55 this section or repeals such resolution or enacts the resolution
56 described in subdivision (n) of this section or repeals such resolution,
S. 4962--A 3
1 such resolution or repeal shall also be deemed to amend any local law,
2 ordinance or resolution enacted by such a city imposing such taxes
3 pursuant to the authority of this subdivision, whether or not such taxes
4 are suspended at the time such city enacts its resolution pursuant to
5 subdivision (k) [or], (l) or (n) of this section or at the time of any
6 such repeal; provided, further, that any such local law, ordinance or
7 resolution and section eleven hundred seven, as deemed to be amended in
8 the event a city of one million or more enacts a resolution pursuant to
9 the authority of subdivision (k) [or], (l) or (n) of this section, shall
10 be further amended, as provided in section twelve hundred eighteen, so
11 that the residential solar energy systems equipment exemption or the
12 clothing and footwear exemption or the qualified empire zone enterprise
13 exemptions in any such local law, ordinance or resolution or in such
14 section eleven hundred seven are the same, as the case may be, as the
15 residential solar energy systems equipment exemption provided for in
16 subdivision (ee), the clothing and footwear exemption in paragraph thir-
17 ty of subdivision (a) or the qualified empire zone enterprise exemptions
18 in subdivision (z) of section eleven hundred fifteen.
19 § 3. Section 1210 of the tax law is amended by adding a new subdivi-
20 sion (n) to read as follows:
21 (n) Notwithstanding any other provision of state or local law, ordi-
22 nance or resolution to the contrary:
23 (1) Any city having a population of one million or more in which the
24 taxes imposed by section eleven hundred seven of this chapter are in
25 effect, acting through its local legislative body, is hereby authorized
26 and empowered to elect to provide the same exemptions from such taxes as
27 the residential solar energy systems equipment exemption from state
28 sales and compensating use taxes described in subdivision (ee) of
29 section eleven hundred fifteen of this chapter by enacting a resolution
30 in the form set forth in paragraph two of this subdivision; whereupon,
31 upon compliance with the provisions of subdivisions (d) and (e) of this
32 section, such enactment of such resolution shall be deemed to be an
33 amendment to such section eleven hundred seven and such section eleven
34 hundred seven shall be deemed to incorporate such exemptions as if they
35 had been duly enacted by the state legislature and approved by the
36 governor.
37 (2) Form of Resolution: Be it enacted by the (insert proper title of
38 local legislative body) as follows:
39 Section one. Receipts from sales of and consideration given or
40 contracted to be given for, or for the use of, property and services
41 exempt from state sales and compensating use taxes pursuant to subdivi-
42 sion (ee) of section 1115 of the tax law shall also be exempt from sales
43 and compensating use taxes imposed in this jurisdiction.
44 Section two. This resolution shall take effect September 1, (insert
45 the year, but not earlier than the year 2005) and shall apply to sales
46 made, services rendered and uses occurring on and after that date in
47 accordance with the applicable transitional provisions in sections 1106,
48 1216 and 1217 of the New York tax law.
49 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately, provided that section one
50 of this act shall take effect September 1, 2005.